by Shai Thompson, House of Lily Koi –
There was a time when age-related fashion dictated the choices we made in our wardrobe. What I now call our original influencers – mothers, grandmothers and teachers – all took a turn drilling into our heads their traditional way of what is “age-appropriate” dressing.
No disrespect, but I am about to de-funk that way of thinking. Here is the deal … all day long I hear women saying what they can’t wear. My question is always “why do you feel that way?” You want to know what the common response is? “It’s what I was taught,'” or “I have nowhere to wear this dress.”
I had a client recently come into my store looking for a holiday pantsuit, saying that she looks awful in dresses. A few questions in, she finally revealed that her mother told her to never wear dresses because they weren’t becoming on her. WHAT? So, I put her in a dress, turned her around and boom, magic, tears, and guess what? She looked killer in the dress! Our influencers aren’t always right and sometimes stagnate the growth of others’ creative presentation.
OK, so it’s time to unlearn a few out-of-date guidelines, my beautiful people. Let’s start by looking back at some of those influencer rules. It has been suggested that after a certain age you need to cut your hair short. Back in the day it was considered a nonverbal way of projecting that you no longer need your long hair to feel or look sexy. You’re married; you have children; you need to keep your house in order … that was a traditional way of thinking.
These days we are seeing more and more women growing their long gray locks and they are rocking this look of independence. Remember: sexy does not have an age cap! And the gray-haired babe that punks and funks up her ‘do is celebrating the rebel that still is alive and well … love that look!
Another rule was that makeup after a certain age should only be a light lipstick and a little blush. I think that too much makeup on anyone, at any age, can reflect poorly, adding age to a person if not applied with skill. There is help at the cosmetic counter; let them try a new fresh look on you. Remember we do not want to look like Sweet Baby Jane – we want to accentuate the positive!
So many hot-bodied 50+ babes are hiding what they work so hard to preserve. They want to cover their arms because that is what they were taught. Meanwhile, they have guns that would put 20-somethings to shame.
The beauty of who you are is a lifetime discovery and being authentic to yourself is powerful. I dare you to try yourself on for size.
